Devil Spawn
by dorknhime
Summary: She hates him. All she remembered from their childhood was how he had made her life miserable. However, he loves her. He's been in love with her ever since they were children - marrying her doll and action figure. Distance separated them but now that he's back, he was ready to court her. No more hiding his feeling by bullying her.
1. The return of devil spawn

So, here is my new fic. It is a continuation of the Devil Spawn ficlet that I wrote for Samcedes Week.

As usual, I do not own Glee.

* * *

**Twelve years ago**

_They were two peas in a pod. Ever since they were born, they were always together. Sam and Mercedes were rarely being apart from each other. Their parents were best friends and naturally, they were each other best friends too. However, when they were five years old, Burt Hummel and his son moved into town. Sam and Mercedes were soon joined with Kurt since somehow; Devon Jones and Dwight Evans had bonded with Burt and welcomed him into their tight little group. The addition of Kurt into their friendship marked the beginning of the beginning of the hellish years in Mercedes' life._

_Mercedes and Kurt bonded through dolls and tea party that Sam had never really understood. Often, he was being rejected when he insisted that they played with his action figures instead of the dolls. Thus, it led to him being angry at Kurt for snatching his Mimi and at Mercedes for choosing someone new instead of him. It all started when he found a pair of scissors in the kitchen cabinet. He hid it in his backpack – the one that he always carrying around and cut Mercedes' Barbie Doll's hair with it. He was hoping that Mercedes would stop playing with Kurt and the dolls once her doll was ruined. He watched as Mercedes wailed and cried once she saw her 'Belle' tragic condition – all the time hoping that she would be running toward him. To his dismay, Mercedes went toward Kurt and both of them cried over the tragic fate of Belle's beautiful hair. That day, Sam went back home with a foul mood. Mary Evans noticed the sour face of his son as she picked him up at the kindergarten. Unlike every other day, Sam hopped into the car without saying goodbye to his best friend._

_"Aren't you going to hug Cedes and say goodbye to her like usual?" Mary asked. Sam just pouted and crossed his arms and brought them to his chest and huffed._

_"Okay, no goodbye then" Mary muttered as she started driving._

* * *

_Sam was plotting many ways to gain back Mercedes' attention. He hated being in the sidelines – watching the happy scenes between Mercedes and Kurt. They were rarely spending time together anymore. He was disappointed when he went to the Jones' house and was told that Mercedes and Kurt were having a sleepover at Kurt's house. He went back home with disappointment. It was the moment when Sam realized that he needed to do something so that Mercedes would notice him again._

* * *

_Sam was sitting at the corridor, brooding as he watched Kurt and Mercedes playing together. A loud scream disturbed his concentration. His attention was brought to Puck who was arguing with Quinn at the slide. Puck was disturbing Quinn by pulling her ponytail and Sam got his answer. In order to make Mercedes to notice him again, he needed to harass her – just like what Puck did to Quinn. Due to his continuance disturbing her, Quinn forgot about her friends and kept her attention at Puck. Sam grinned as he started to plot something in his little mind._

_Mercedes hated his former best friend. Sam had turned out to be a monster. She didn't know what had happened but the Sammy that she liked was gone. He had become close with Puckerman and every time he saw her, he would always pull her ponytail or made fun of her. Therefore, Mercedes had made a decision that she would always ignore Sam. She had spent most of her times with Kurt, playing dolls and having tea parties together._

_"Cedes!" Kurt shouted as he saw her. Mercedes quickly waved and smiled widely at him. Kurt ran and hugged her._

_"You look pretty!" he said._

_"It's a new dress. Grandma bought it for me" Mercedes said as she twirled around, showing her dress. Then, out of nowhere, Sam appeared and bumped into her, making her fell into the mud puddle nearby._

_"Oh no! Cedes, are you okay?" Kurt said as he helped her._

_"My dress is ruined!" Mercedes cried. They looked at Sam who was grinning at them._

_"You should apologize to Cedes!" Kurt said._

_"Why? It's her fault for standing there!" Sam said, shrugging as he turned and walked away. Mercedes looked at him with hatred in her eyes and walked back to her home with Kurt._

_Mercedes never thought that she would learn about hatred in such an early age but one Samuel Evans had thought her that. She was playing dolls with Kurt – pretending that their dolls were married. Then, out of nowhere, Sam came and poured some water colour on their dolls, thus ruining the white gown that her doll wore._

_"Ops, sorry!" Sam said before running away with an evil grin. At that moment, Mercedes knew that Sam Evans was a devil in disguise. She huffed and took her doll to the nearby faucet and washed it while cursing the devil's spawn._

_Janine noticed that Mercedes seemed to be coming out with lots of excuses to skip school. When she asked her daughter about it, she said nothing and she would solemnly get ready to school. Therefore, she decided to ask Kurt about it when the kid came for their customary play date._

_"Kurt, do you know what troubling Cedes? She seems to be upset about something but she didn't want to tell me about it"_

_"Kids at school are always calling her names"_

_"Names?" Janine asked with a frown. Kurt nodded._

_"Names like Chubby Chubbs and Mimi GummyBear"_

_The day that the Evans moved away was definitely the best day of Mercedes' life. Sure, she was sad to be away from Ma and Pa Evans but she was over the moon by the fact that Sam won't be ruining her life anymore. The Joneses were at the Evans' house, saying goodbye to them. She saw Sam walking toward her and she immediately felt wary – thinking what he would do to her._

_"Bye, Mimi!" he said and to everybody surprised, he leaned forward and kissed her lips. Mercedes was stunned with his sudden action. The adults looked at each other with knowing smiles._

* * *

**2014**

Mercedes was on her way down the stairs when she heard her mother talking to the phone. She caught the end of the conversation consisted of 'can't wait to meet you' and 'It's been a while'.

"Are we having some guests tonight?" She asked her mother who seemed very excited. Janine Jones gave her daughter a wide smile.

"That's Mary. They are on the way" she said. Mercedes frowned.

"Mary?" she asked, confused.

"Mary Evans"

Mercedes nodded. Of course she knew the Evans – Mary and Dwight Evans, her parents' best friends since college. They used to live next door but moved to Nashville around 12 years ago. Despite the distance, the families would occasionally visit each other. The last time she met the Evans was four years ago.

"Oh, are they here for a visit?" Mercedes asked. She loved Mary and Dwight. Besides, some years ago, the couple had gotten a twin and she adored them.

"Didn't you know, Cedes? They're moving back here – into their old house since Mrs. Harold is moving to France with her son. I'm sure you'll be happy to have them as our neighbor again. Remember? You used to play around with Sammy"

Mercedes' eyes went wide at the mention of the one name that she hated the most. Mary and Dwight Evans were lovely people. However, their eldest son was another story. Growing up together, they used to be best friends – until Sam had turned into a beast and made her life a living nightmare.

"I need to go" Mercedes said and quickly walked out of the house.

* * *

She drove to the Hummel's house and parked her car. After locking her car, Mercedes went and knocked on the door. A moment later, the door was opened and she was met with a frowning Kurt.

"He's back!" Mercedes blurted. Kurt frowned deeper as he took in her friend's weird appearance.

"Who's back?" Kurt asked but didn't wait for an answer when he noticed the panic in her eyes. He reached for her hand and dragged Mercedes into his room. He then went to take some water to her.

"Here" Kurt said, handing a glass to her. Mercedes took it and drank the water in a go before giving the empty glass to Kurt.

"Take a deep breath, let it go and tell me what make you all jittery like this"

She did as Kurt said and then looked at him.

"He's back! The devil spawn is back!" Mercedes said. Kurt frowned. He didn't really understand what his best friend was talking about.

"Devil spawn, who?"

Mercedes rolled her eyes, exasperatedly. "Samuel Devil Spawn Evans is back in town!" she said. Kurt looked at her with wide eyes.

"You meant your old neighbor?"

Mercedes nodded. Kurt finally understood the reason behind the near panic attack just now. He sat on the bed, next to Mercedes.

"God, he was really horrible. I still remembered what he did to our dolls. Poor Belle and Aurora" he said, thinking about the dolls that Sam had cut the hair. Mercedes nodded. She still remembered how Sam had pushed her into a mud puddle and ruined her new dress – or how he had splashed some watercolor on her doll's wedding dress. Thinking about all the bad things that he had done to her had made her blood boiled with rage.

"Ugh, I hate him! I don't understand how great and kind people like Mary and Dwight have a devil spawn as a child?"

"It's not their fault that Blondie is evil" Kurt shrugged his shoulders. He looked at Mercedes and then, frowned. "I thought you and him were civil? I mean – your family went to Nashville before, and all you talked about was how you miss Mary and Dwight or how cute the twins are"

"No, we're not! He wasn't around when we visited. Sam Devil Spawn Evans was in a private boarding school, so, I didn't see him and I am really grateful for it. The last time I saw him was when we went to Disney World together when we were nine. I've been living a good and peaceful live and now, everything will be ruined!" Mercedes whined. Kurt rolled his eyes. Being a diva also meant that Mercedes Jones was quite a drama queen, sometimes. Her phone rang and Mercedes quickly answered it.

"Hey, Mom!" she said. "No, I can't go back for dinner. Kurt and I are working on a song for Glee Club. Mr. Schue had just emailed us the assignment for tomorrow"

"Lying to Momma Jones, _really_? We don't have any Glee's assignment!" Kurt said as he side-eyeing her. Mercedes sighed as she lay down on Kurt's bed.

"The Evans is coming over for dinner and I am definitely not ready to face that devil spawn yet. The only way to get out of it is lying" Mercedes mumbled.

"If you're going to stay for dinner, you need to help me cook! Let's go!" Kurt said, giving his hand for her to take. Mercedes took it and they headed to the kitchen.

* * *

Disappointment was an understatement when Sam noticed that Mercedes wasn't home when they arrived. He was looking forward to meet her. It's been years since they last met each other. The one time that the Joneses went to visit them in Nashville, he was stuck at school. All he saw were pictures of her when she was thirteen. He felt a pang of jealousy when Janine said that Mercedes was at the Hummel's house when his mother asked about her. Sam was over the moon when his father told the family that they were moving back to Lima, Ohio and the only reason for it was Mercedes Jones. To know that she was still hanging around with Kurt 'parasite' Hummel made him jealous but he knew that it was inevitable. Mercedes and Kurt were really close and it won't be a surprised if they were still close now. When Janine invited his family for dinner, he was excited – thinking that he would finally meet Mercedes. Yet, he was met with another disappointment when she was nowhere around.

"Where's Mercedes?" Stacey asked – voicing out the question that Sam was too shy to ask.

"She's at the Hummel. Apparently, she and Kurt have to work over a sudden Glee's assignment for tomorrow" Janine explained.

"Glee?" Stevie asked. Janine nodded, smiling at the seven years old boy.

"Glee Club. It's a show choir club"

_Glee Club, huh? That's definitely a club that I'll join_, Sam thought. He was deep in his thought that he didn't even listen to the question that Devon asked him. It was when Dwight nudged him that he realized that they were staring at him. He smiled bashfully as he asked Devon to repeat his question.

"You're enrolling into McKinley's high? Or Dalton?" Devon asked.

"McKinley. I want to try attending a public school, for a change" Sam answered. The main reason he decided to attend McKinley was because he knew that Mercedes was there. Devon nodded.

"Good. I heard you played football and God knows that the Titans need a good player in it. The team hadn't won any single match in two years!"

* * *

Sam walked into his room and looked around it. It was his old room, years ago. He still remembered playing with Mercedes in it. Pretending to marry her doll and his action figure. He reached for a box that was filled with his comic collection and began arranging them in the bookshelves. Once finished, he sat on his study chair, twirling the chair around as he admired his work on his old/new room. It was then, when he heard a song blasting through his window. He stopped twirling and fixed his eyes on his window – staring directly into the room opposite of his. A smile magically appeared on his face when he noticed that it was Mercedes' room. His eyes went wide when he realized what she was doing – Mercedes Jones was changing her clothes! When she took off her top, revealing her half naked body, Sam fell down off his chair with a loud thud_. Fuck, Mercedes Jones had grown up to be an extremely gorgeous lady,_ he thought, chuckling when he realized that he might have trouble sleeping with the image that he had just seen.


	2. Audition

Thank you so much for reviewing / alerts / favorites!

Seemed some readers are confused about the history between Sam, Mercedes and Kurt. So, I've edited chapter one with their kiddies ficlet. Hope it makes sense now. :)

Did everybody watch Glee? I am still high on samcedes! They looked adorable together! It is definitely one of the best episodes! It surprises me that I actually like Rachel in this episode. That scene where she hailed a cab was hilarious! Not to mention, the way Mercedes stopped Sam from kissing her :D

Do not own Glee!

* * *

The morning had started in a bad way for Mercedes. Her parents kept on talking about Sam ever since she joined them for breakfast. She just partially listened to her parents. Once done with breakfast, she kissed them and off to school. She met with Kurt at the parking lot and they walked hand in hand toward the door.

"Mimi!"

Mercedes froze when she heard the old nickname that nobody had ever called her since a certain blonde left the town. Kurt looked at his best friend, frowning. He turned to look at their back and saw a blonde guy was smiling widely at them. Before he managed to say anything, he was pulled by Mercedes who was running into the hallway and went straight into the toilet.

Sam was beyond excited to start school. He would finally meet Mercedes Jones – face to face since they would be in the same school. He had everything planned. He would go early to school, wait for Mercedes to appear and talked to her. He decided to have breakfast in his car instead of at home. He was munching his sandwich when he saw Mercedes. He immediately finished eating and grabbed his bag. He saw her walked to a guy – who he concluded as Kurt Parasite Hummel and hugged his arm. Sam scowled at the scene but he shrugged his jealousy off. He shouted her nickname and he could visibly see her froze. With a wide grin, he stood behind her and watched as she turned to look at him. He was about to approach her when Mercedes suddenly took Kurt's hand and ran away – something that he didn't expect her to do. Sighing, Sam walked to the school's office.

* * *

"Cedes, what the hell?" Kurt asked once they were both in the female toilet. Mercedes rested her back on the toilet's walls.

"Who was that guy? He is looking mighty fine! How could you hide him from me?" Kurt babbled. Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"You don't recognize him?" she asked incredulously. Kurt frowned. He stopped his babble on the mysterious guy's hotness and started thinking. In a minute, his eyes went wide as he looked at her.

"Devil Spawn?! God, I forgot that he used to call you that. Damn, puberty definitely did an extremely good job on him. That guy looks like a real life Adonis!"

Mercedes groaned. She admitted that the devil spawn was good looking, but she won't tell Kurt that.

"Stoner Brett is ten times handsome than he is!" she groaned. Kurt looked at her liked she had grown another head.

"Diva, your eyes are broken. Must be because you kept on staring at the zebra pattern carpet in your room" he spat.

* * *

_School was okay_, Sam thought. He made a friend in his AP Chemistry class – Mike Chang. He told Sam that he played football and in Glee Club. Sam grinned when he heard it. He was dying to ask about Mercedes, but he was afraid that Mike might think that he was a creeper if he dug information about her right away. It was lunch and he sat around a bunch of people that he didn't even know. It was then when he heard music and the opening for the 'Empire State of Mind'. He saw Mercedes, Kurt and Mike with a group of unknown students which he concluded as the Glee Club's members. Without wasting any time, Sam immediately asked around about the Glee Club. He was a man on a mission and he would do everything he could to accomplished it.

* * *

Mr. Schuester was excited to welcome his students back for the new semester. He had planned for them to perform the song during lunch since Glee still needed a new member. Even though they managed to get to the National, they only managed to get the twelve places and it wasn't enough to attract new members. So, when a kid came and told him that he was interested to join Glee, Schuester wasn't even hesitated to ask him to audition. The result of it pleased him to no end. He was practically jumping into the choir room.

"Guys, I have great news!" he said. "We have a new member! Please welcome, Sam Evans!"

Mercedes' eyes went wide when she heard the name. They were wider once she saw him strutting into the room with a wide smile.

"No!" she bellowed out – startling everybody else. "I – I mean, can he sing? We cannot just accept anybody in" she said and she was relieved when some of the Glee Club member expressed their agreement.

"Sam did audition before and believe me – he can sing. That's why he was accepted into Glee" Mr. Schue explained.

"Well, I won't accept it without hearing his voice. I don't trust you for not accepting just everybody because we desperately need a twelve member" Mercedes countered back. Mr. Schuester was about to say something when Sam beat him to it. Without saying anything, he went to take a guitar from the one of the bands member and started playing the chords to Billionaire.

_I wanna be a billionairle so freakin' bad_

_Buy all of the things I never had_

_I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine_

_Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen_

_Oh, every time I close my eyes_

_I see my name in shining lights_

_Yeah, a different city every night_

_Oh, I swear the world better prepare_

_For when I'm a billionaire_

_Yeah, I would have a show like Oprah I would be the host of_

_Everyday Christmas, give Travie your wish list_

_I'd probably pull an Angelina and Brad Pitt_

_And adopt a bunch of babies that ain't never had it_

_Give away a few Mercedes, like here lady have this_

_And last but not least grant somebody their last wish_

_It's been a couple months that I've been single so_

_You can call me Travie Claus minus the ho ho!_

_Get it I'd probably visit where Katrina hit_

_And damn sure do a lot more than FEMA did_

_Yeah, can't forget about me, stupid_

_Everywhere I go I'ma have my own theme music_

_Oh every time I close my eyes,_

_I see my name in shining lights_

_A different city every night_

_Oh, I swear the world better prepare_

_For when I'm a billionaire_

_Oh oh, oh oh, for when I'm a Billionaire_

_Oh oh, oh oh_

_I'll be playing basketball with the President_

_Dunking on his delegates_

_Then I'll compliment him on his political etiquette_

_Toss a couple milli in the air just for the heck of it_

_But keep the fives, twenties, hiz and biz completely separate_

_And yeah I'll be in a whole new tax bracket_

_We in recession, but let me take a crack at it_

_I'll probably take whatever's left and just split it up_

_So everybody that I love can have a couple bucks_

_And not a single tummy around me would know what hungry was_

_Eating good, sleeping soundly_

_I know we all have a similar dream_

_Go in your pocket pull out your wallet, put it in the air and sing_

_I wanna be a billionaire so freakin bad_

_Buy all of the things I never had_

_Uh, I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine_

_Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen._

_(what up Oprah hahah!)_

_Oh, every time I close my eyes_

_I see my name in shining lights_

_A different city every night_

_Oh, I swear the world better prepare_

_For when I'm a billionaire_

_When I'm a billionaire_

_I wanna be a billionaire so freakin bad_

The whole time he was singing, Sam's eyes were fixed on Mercedes – as if challenging her to say something. He hid his smirked when he saw her crossed her hands together and brought them to her chest as she huffed. _Something never changed_, he thought. That was a gesture that she always did whenever she was proven wrong and things didn't go as she wanted.

"So?" Mr. Schuester asked, eyes locking on Mercedes.

"He can stay" she said, rolling her eyes in disgruntled. Sam went to sit next to Mike – behind Mercedes. He saw Kurt was looking at him but he ignored him.

* * *

"I knew it, Kurt! I knew it!" Mercedes ranted – pacing back and forth in the toilet. Kurt looked at her and frowned.

"What do you know? You've been chanting that sentence for five minutes, now! Like it is some kind of mantra to a voodoo spell!"

"The devils spawn! What else? Did you see the evil smirk that he gave me once he finished singing? I knew that he's here to make my life miserable! Ugh, why didn't he go to Dalton?" she ranted.

"Cedes, it was twelve years ago. We're all grown now. I don't think he still is the same douche when he was five. Besides, don't you think he looks hot when he played the guitar?"

Mercedes groaned. Ever since they saw Samuel Devil Spawn Evans at the entrance, Kurt kept on talking about how gorgeous he was. Mercedes also knew that all of the Glee girls were thinking the same too. She saw the fluttering looks that Tina had when she looked at Sam. _What's the point of having a handsome face if your inside is the incarnation of the devil?_ Mercedes thought.

"We should go to class!" Mercedes said, dragging Kurt out of the toilet. Once again, she was greeted with the last person on earth that she wanted to meet when they arrived at their class. Mercedes groaned as she and Kurt walked to their seats.

Sam couldn't help but grinned when he saw Mercedes at the door. However, the grin faltered when he saw that she was holding hands with Kurt. Ugh, that parasite! He started to think that there was something going on between those two. He saw her rolling her eyes at him once their eyes met. School almost over, yet he couldn't even talk to her.

* * *

Sam smiled when he heard Stevie and Stacey talked animatedly about their new school and new friends. He was glad and happy that his siblings were happy with their new environment.

"So, how's school, son?" Dwight asked.

"Quite good. I signed up for Glee Club and try out for the football. Hopefully, I can make into the team"

"Did you see Mercedes?" Mary asked. Sam couldn't fight the wide smile that appeared on his face at the mere mention of her name. He nodded.

"We share a few classes together" he explained, nonchalantly as he focused on his dinner. Sam didn't notice the smiles that his parents share over his head.

* * *

Mercedes loved Glee Club. She loved the environment of it. However, ever since a certain blonde 'invaded' it, she started to enjoy it less. It was still fun, but Sam made it harder to fully enjoy it due to his intense staring.

"Mimi!"

Mercedes froze when she heard it. She had been avoiding him since the first day of school and these last few days – she had succeeded in doing so – _well_, except for at the moment. She turned and her finger was pointing at him.

"Stop calling me that name!" she hissed but couldn't help but noticed that he was looking extra fine in his letterman jacket. So, Kurt's story about Sam had been accepted into the football team as the quarterback was true, she thought.

"What name? Mimi? It is name. Why should I stop calling it?" Sam asked, smiling lopsidedly. Mercedes rolled her eyes in annoyance. They just started talking but she could feel her blood boiling with rage.

"No, my name is Mercedes, not Mimi" she said and turned around immediately – hastily walking to get as far away from him.

* * *

After practice, Sam and Mike went back to Sam's house for a nice bro time. Sam liked Mike Chang and ever since they met, they hit it off. Besides, he needed to know everything about Mercedes. Trying to get close to her was fruitless. She didn't even give him time to speak more than one word to her. He started with a simple lame question for Mike – liked asking why did he joined Glee. Mike told him it was because he liked dancing. The rest were simple questions on the relationship in Glee.

"Dude, why don't you just spit out the real question? I know you're interested in Mercedes" Mike said, chuckling when he noticed Sam had turned red.

"How – how did you know?"

Mike shrugged his shoulders. He put down the game console and reached for his coke.

"It was blatantly obvious. Ever since you walked into Glee Club, your eyes had been set on her. Besides, I saw you tried to talk to her but she dismissed you. I don't know what happened between you two, but I never see Mercedes treats someone likes she treats you. I mean – she is the sweetest girl ever. She nice to everybody, but with you – she seems like another person"

Sam let out a sigh.

"We used to be best friends before I moved. Something happened and I wasn't – very nice to her. I guess she still had some grudge over the old days"

"You seem to have your work cut out for you. Mercedes Jones is not easy to please. Tinsley was still heartbroken when she rejected him for the third time"

"Kurt must be lucky, then. He got the girl without doing much work. Just appeared out of nowhere and agreed to play dolls and had tea parties with her" Sam muttered. Mike looked at him, frowning.

"Come again? Kurt?" he asked. Sam nodded, sipping his pepsi.

"Kurt. Aren't they like together or something?" he asked. He was shocked and confused when Mike burst out laughing.

"What so funny?"

Mike wiped his tears due to the laughter.

"_You!_ Dude, what the hell is your problem? Where the hell is your gaydar?" he asked. Sam frowned.

"Gaydar? What do –" he trailed off as he thought about it and then looked at Mike with wide eyes. "O – Oh!"

Mike nodded when he noticed the realization had settled in.

"How come you didn't notice that Kurt is gay? Everybody knows it!"

"I don't know. There's this dude in my old school that is exactly likes Kurt. People thought he's gay but turns out, he's not. I mean, he _bang_ chicks on a daily basis. So, the fact that Kurt is gay doesn't even cross my mind" Sam explained. He stared at Mike. "So, they're not together, right? I mean – Mercedes and Kurt"

"No! They just really close"

Sam definitely felt stupid at the moment. He was bitching at the fact that Kurt had beaten him to fight for Mercedes' heart while the fact was that he wasn't romantically interested in her. Turned out, Parasite Hummel wasn't parasite at all.


	3. Confession

Do not own Glee!

* * *

The whole talk with Mike definitely brought some lights into Sam's mind. It also made him wanted to smack his own head for being clueless. The signs were all in front of him and yet, he couldn't even see them. All those jealousy this whole time had made him felt ashamed of himself. Sam sat on his study chair and faced his window. He smiled when he saw Mercedes in her room. She was dancing and he could hear her sang. He stared wistfully at her – wishing that they could be Sammy and Mimi once again. The fact that she hated it when he called her Mimi, hurt. He wouldn't deny that. The way she acted around him, hurt him. All he wanted was to be close to her and he was confident that what Mercedes wanted was for him to stay as far away as he could from her.

Mr. Schue walked into the choir room and wrote 'duets' on the board. He began explaining about the meaning of it and with a wide smile, he looked at the Glee Club members.

"So, I want you to pair up and pick a song. Next week, we're going to have you perform it and, the winner will have a number during regionals!"

Everyone cheered. All of them began to squabble and talking loudly, asking their favorite Glee Club member to be their duet partner. Noticing the fight that might happen, Mr. Schuester decided to put an end to the squabble.

"BUT!" he yelled. "I'm going to pick your duet partner!"

Simultaneous groans could be heard around the room. Mr. Schuester ignored them and began writing the names on papers and put them in a box. He called Finn, Kurt, Puck, Quinn, Mike and Mercedes to the front to ballot. Sam waited with baited breath as he watched Mercedes walked to the box. He silently prayed that he would get her as a duet partner. He loved her voice and he knew that they would sound great together. Besides, if they had become partner, he could get closer to her. Unbeknown to him, Mercedes was silently praying too as she rumbled through the papers in the box. She was praying that she got anyone except for Sam Evans. She took a deep breath and let it go as she grabbed a piece of paper. She opened it and a wide smile appeared on her face as she saw Santana's name was written on it.

"Santana!" she announce happily as she went to get the Latino girl. Sam was crestfallen when he heard it. He just sulkily paying attention as he saw Finn got Artie, Puck ended up with Rachel, Mike and Brittany and Quinn was with Joe. He knew that he would be partnered up with Kurt since he was the only choice that was left.

"Looks like we're together, Evans!" Kurt said. Sam smiled and nodded. If this happened two weeks ago, he would definitely curse his fate though, Sam thought. But, now that he had known the truth, all the resentment that he had toward Kurt were gone. Besides, Mike had told him that Kurt was definitely the key that he needed to win Mercedes. He totally agreed with that and now that he knew that Kurt Hummel wasn't a threat, he started to see him as an ally rather than enemy.

* * *

"I can't believe that you stuck with the Devil Spawn" Mercedes said as she and Kurt walked into her house. She closed the door and they went straight to her room. Kurt sat on her bed and shrugged his shoulder.

"I don't mind. Besides, he has one of the nicest voices in Glee" he looked at her – pointing his finger. "_Don't_ you deny it" Kurt said. Mercedes rolled her eyes. She took off her coat and hung it before settling herself next to Kurt.

"Are you sure he won't do something to mess up the performance? I mean – we both knew how _horrible_ he was"

They were both laying on the bed. Mercedes was staring at the stars on her ceiling while Kurt was flipping through her Vogue magazine.

"Cedes, it's in the past. Besides, ever since he came back to Lima, all he ever did was chasing after his Mimi" he said, nudging her elbow. Mercedes groaned. Sam's behavior really irked her and it annoyed her to no end. Everything about Sam Evans annoyed her. Santana, Tina and Brittany kept on giving her weird looks because of him and she was extremely sure that they had suspected there was something going on with her and Sam.

"I'm pretty sure that Santana, Tina and Brittany will ask about the weird vibe coming from that devil spawn during our sleepover this weekend"

"Weird vibe? More like sexual tension to me. Whenever you two are in a same room, there's like some weird energy going around. Sometimes, it even gives me goose bumps"

"Did you take some kind of drugs or what? Me and that freaking Devil Spawn? Never in a million years!"

Kurt laughed at her expression. He jumped up and stood before reaching for his bag.

"I'm going home. Dad might end up eating some leftover sandwich for dinner if I don't go now. I'll see you tomorrow, Diva" he said and turned to the door. Kurt turned to look at the window once he straightened his clothes. He frowned when he noticed Sam was looking at it. When he saw Kurt, he seemed to look down and writing something. _That's weird_, Kurt thought.

"Hey, Cedes"

Mercedes looked at him. Kurt wanted to ask about what he just saw. However, after contemplating something in his mind, he just shook his head and bid goodbye to her.

* * *

Sam was restless. He felt like someone was watching him, but whenever he turned around, there was nobody. He shrugged it off and continued walking to his class. His mind was full of the fact that Kurt had caught him staring through his window and he prayed that Kurt didn't suspect anything. Well – he didn't do anything wrong. He just sat at his study table and looking through his window – which facing the window in Mercedes' bedroom. He might have seen her half naked a few times, but it wasn't on purpose. She just seemed to always change her clothes while he was looking. _No, Sam, you're not creepy_, he thought. Sam sat on his seat and a moment later, Kurt walked into the class and went straight to him. He gulped down his saliva when he saw he was staring at him.

"It's not fun when _you're_ the one being watched, isn't it?" Kurt asked in a low tone.

"It was you?" Sam asked, confused. He sighed when Kurt was giving him a death glare. "Look, it – it's not like that – I can explain. Well -,"

"We need to start working on the duet. I'll be at your house around 4" Kurt said and went to sit at the back, leaving Sam dumbfounded.

"O-okay" Sam muttered.

* * *

Kurt looked around Sam's room and suppressed his smile when he saw three pictures of Sam and Mercedes when they were kids in his room. One was on his bookshelf, one on his study table and another one was on his nightstand. He went near Sam's study table and looked at the window.

"You can see everything in Cedes' room from here" he commented, nonchalantly. Sam bit his lower lip.

"Dude, look -,"

Kurt stared at him, arms crossed to his chest and an eyebrow rising.

"Are you a stalking her? Do I need to inspect your room for any listening device or night vision goggle?" Kurt said. He turned to look at the window and his eyes went wide when he saw Mercedes walked around clad only in her bra. He gaped as he turned to look at Sam.

"You!" he said, finger pointing at Sam's chest. "How long have you been stalking her? You're gross, Sam Evans!" he continued.

"I'm not stalking her!" Sam exclaimed. Kurt gave him a stink eye. His arms were crossed at his chest. His face saying that he didn't believe Sam. Sam bit his lower lip. He raised his hands in the surrender motion and sat at the edge of his bed.

"Okay, fine! I'll watch her – _sometimes_. But it's not like I do it 24/7 and it's not my fault that sometimes she was doing what you saw just now" Sam said. The last sentence came out almost in a whisper. Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Why can't you just talk to her like a normal person?"

"She kept on dismissing me! I can't even say a word to her, let alone start a conversation before she goes running away from me!"

Kurt stared at Sam who was looking a bit flustered. He smirked as he settled on Sam's study chair.

"You like her. You like Cedes" he said. Sam was silence as he stared at Kurt. Kurt's eyes went wide once he realized something. "Damn! That's why you did what you've done years ago! You _bullied_ her because you _like_ her!"

Sam huffed. There's no point in keeping it a secret. He had started to wonder if he really was that transparent. Mike had figured it out before he even said anything to him and now Kurt knew – granted, Kurt had caught him being all creepy stalker-like but still, he would like it if people didn't know pointing out something he had tried to keep it to himself so easily.

"Fine! I like her, okay? I really, really, really like Mimi – I mean, Mercedes! I was being mean to her because of you! You just showed up one day and stole my best friend! So, yes! I resented you so much and I felt stupid because I thought you and Mercedes are together until Mike told me that you're gay!"

Kurt frowned when he heard the last sentence. He stood straight on the chair and stared at Sam.

"How much do you like her?" he asked. His tone was serious, no messing around sort of way. Sam raked his hair with his fingers and sighed.

"Very, very much. It's the level that I want to marry her and have family with her"

Kurt gasped. Sam Evans wasn't just like his best friend, but he also in love with her. He studied Sam who was looking a little uncomfortable in front of him. A smile appeared on his face. Mercedes Jones was a beautiful girl and she deserved a handsome guy to be her beau. She seemed to be so keen in keeping the independence woman status who didn't need a man in her life but Kurt knew better. He knew that Mercedes longed for someone to love her – not that there's no boys who knocked on her door but she just simply wasn't interested. Kurt eyed Sam and smiled. He might have found the perfect guy for her – granted that she hated the guy but Kurt had some unconfirmed suspicions that there were more to the hatred that Mercedes seemed to harbor toward the blonde Adonis in front of him.

"Kurt, are you okay?" Sam asked. He was worried when Kurt seemed not to move and just stared at him. Kurt smiled at him – a very wide smile that made Sam frowned in confusion.

"I'm fine. Never been better" he said, giddily. "Now, Sam. Since I had established on the fact that you like Cedes and had liked her for a long time – I've decided that I will help you in courting her. However, unlike other guys who are interested in her, you have a great disadvantage"

Sam frowned. He waited for Kurt to continue. Kurt looked directly into Sam's eyes.

"She hates you. In fact, she calls you devil spawn because she hates you so much. It's going to take a lot of works to make Cedes to like you"

Sam gasped. He wiped his face in defeat.

"Devil spawn? Am I _that_ bad?"

Kurt nodded. He shrugged his shoulders when he heard Sam's question.

"Well, speaking from the experience, I would say, yes. You're _that_ bad"

"I'm sorry. I meant, for everything that I've done to you in the past. For me, you were like a parasite that showed up out of nowhere and stuck yourself at Mimi. Then, you two seemed to hit it off and left me alone"

"Parasite? I am too fabulous to be compared to parasite! But, you're forgiven, Sam. Remember, I want to help you not because you've evolved from an evil kid to a sexy guy but because Cedes needs someone who really love her and you seem like the perfect guy for her" Kurt said. He smiled when Sam didn't correct the word love that he had used to describe his feeling toward Mercedes. A wide smile appeared on Sam's face. He got up and went to hug Kurt.

"Thank you!" he exclaimed, catching Kurt off guard with the sudden hug.

* * *

Mercedes was surprised when Kurt suddenly appeared at her room. She was having chatting with Santana about their duet assignment. Kurt went straight to the bed and sat on it.

"What are you doing here?" Mercedes asked, looking at Kurt.

"I was at Sam's place to discuss about our duet and decided to stop by to see what my Diva is doing"

Mercedes smiled. "I've been talking with Santana about the duet too. Did you guys decide on a song?"

Kurt just realized that they talked about everything _but_ the song. He sighed.

"Is it that bad? Working with him, I mean"

Kurt looked at Mercedes, puzzled with her words. He hadn't even said anything.

"Why do you said that?"

"You've let out a heavy sigh. So, I'm assumed it has something to do with the devil spawn"

"No, no. Sam is actually nice. I sighed because we talk a lot, but forgot to choose a song. Guess, I need to talk about it later"

Mercedes frowned. "_You_, talked _a lot_ with the devil spawn?"

Kurt nodded. Mercedes gasped.

"And you're saying that he is nice. Who are you? And what you've done to my boo?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. _Here come the dramatic diva_, he thought.

"Relax, Diva. I _never_ say that Sam is bad. It was all _you_ – who keep on calling him devil spawn. _Yes_, what he did to us _years_ ago was awful, but we were kids so it didn't really matter. Besides, after talking with him today, I noticed that he really is a nice guy. You just need to know him"

Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"Suits yourself. But for me, he will always be the devil spawn. Nothing will change it" she huffed. Kurt smirked as he looked at her.

"Cedes, I'm home! Is Kurt here? Come down! I bought dinner!"

They heard Janine yelled from downstairs.

"Well, you heard my mom!" Mercedes said as she stood up and held her hand toward Kurt, pulling him from the bed. They walked to the door but Mercedes remembered that she left her phone on her study table. As she turned around to take her phone, she saw Samuel Devil Spawn Evans, who was standing in his room, _shirtless_. He seemed to be talking on the phone and Mercedes glued in her position as her eyes fixed on Sam's hard body.

"Hey, Cedes, what are you-," Kurt's words trailed off as he saw what Mercedes was staring at. "Damn! That's what I would call a perfect body" he continued. Kurt wanted to giggle when he saw how awestruck Mercedes was but knew that he shouldn't do that. So, he opted to shake her out of her reverie.

"W-what?" she asked, dizzily. Kurt side-eyed her.

"We're going downstairs, remember?"

"Yeah, I need to get my phone" she said and reached for her phone. _Damn, devil spawn_! She cursed internally while tried to act cool and collected since Kurt was still eyeing her. Kurt smirked when Mercedes walked past him to the stairs.

* * *

Thank you for reading/reviewing/favorite/alerts!

p/s: Have you seen the new stills? I am definitely looking forward for 5x16! Samcedes just kept getting better and better that I feel like I want to forgive RIB for the disaster that they've called season 4. I still couldn't get over the two kisses in the last episode and not to mention the footsie! The kisses were awesome but my favorite part goes to the footsie. I kept watching it and every time I did, I get all giddy looking at Sam/Chord - how he didn't say anything during the dinner and his face actually giving off what he and Mercedes were doing. I bet, Mercedes started it and that's why Sam seemed a bit flustered lol.


	4. Babysitting

Do not own Glee!

* * *

Mercedes knocked on the door and smiled when she saw Mary once the door was opened. The older woman hugged her and thanked her profusely for willing to help babysit Stevie and Stacey at the last minute.

"Thank you so much, Mercedes. Sam couldn't come home early because of football practice and we cannot cancel this dinner because it involves a big client who will be flying to England tomorrow"

Mercedes smiled widely as she heard that Sam wasn't around.

"Don't worry. You just enjoy your dinner and I'll take care of the twins. Speaking of them, where are they?"

"Okay. I've already prepared the dinner and everything is on the table. You can have it with the kids later" Mary explained. A shout of Mercedes' name was heard before Mary managed to explain the twin's whereabouts. Stevie and Stacy went to hug Mercedes once they appeared.

"Hey guys!" she said, grinning at them.

"Daddy told us that you'll be with us tonight. Is it true?" Stacey asked.

"Yes! I'll be playing with you while your mom and dad are going out for dinner. So, why don't you kiss them good bye first and then we play something?"

The two children nodded and turned to kiss Mary and Dwight who just appeared in the living room. They bade goodbye to their parents and turned to look at Mercedes with expectant eyes.

"So, what do you want to do?" she asked the twin.

"Oh, we can have a tea party!" Stacey beamed. Being the only girl in the family was hard and having Mercedes with her would finally made her wish of having a sister a reality. Stevie pouted.

"No! The party is stupid!" he retorted and the kids started to bicker.

"Okay, stop fighting. How about this? We built a fort and Stevie can pretend to be a warrior who just came back from a battle and stop at our tea shop?"

"Okay!"

"Let's go to the playroom!" Stacey shouted and pulled Mercedes toward their playroom. Without wasting any time, Mercedes and Stevie started to build the fort while Stacy setting up her tea shop. Mercedes played with Stevie and once they had enough, they head to Stacey for a tea.

* * *

Sam was exhausted by the time he reached home. He was extremely tired and hungry. He walked into the house and smiled when he smelled the delicious smell of steak and potatoes. _Mom is awesome_, he thought as he put his bag down on the couch and walked to the dining room. Half way there, he stopped in his track when he saw Mercedes was sitting with his siblings – happily having dinner together. He smiled wider when he heard her laughter. Everything about the girl in front of him was beautiful and he could definitely stare at her forever – or so he thought. The loud growl of his stomach made three pairs of eyes turned and stared at him.

"Hey, I'm home" he said sheepishly. Stacey immediately jumped down from the chair and went to hug him. He noticed that Mercedes was pretending that he wasn't there as she talked with Stevie.

"We're having your favorite steak, Sammy!" Stacey said, bouncing as she pulled Sam toward the dining table and forced him to sit next to Mercedes.

"Stace, let's me fix my plate first. I'm hungry" he said. Somehow, he couldn't stop smiling as he watched Mercedes stared hard at her own plate – trying to ignore him. He went to the kitchen and came back with his own plate and sat back in his place – next to her.

* * *

Once she saw that Stevie and Stacey had finished eating, Mercedes told them to go and chose the movie that they wanted to watch. She then quickly finished her dinner and immediately stood up and collected the kids' plate. She brought the plates to the sink and came back to finish clean up before heading back to the kitchen. To her dismay, Sam was finishing up his dinner and he immediately helped her cleaned up the table. Then, he followed her to the kitchen and stood at the sink, washing the dishes.

"I can do it" Mercedes said, trying to push Sam out of the kitchen due to the awkward tension looming above her head.

"It's okay. I wash and you can dry it" Sam said, handing a plate to her so that she can wiped it with the dry cloth. Sighing, she hesitantly took it. Sam smiled and they continued to work together – in silent, despite Sam's attempt to start a conversation. Once finished, they went to living room and joined Stevie and Stacey who was watching Cars 2.

"Sammy! Cedes! We save your seats!" Stacey exclaimed when she saw the two teenagers approaching her and Stevie. Mercedes sighed as she saw the large space between the two kids. She looked at Sam with trouble expression but he just shrugged as he went to sit beside Stevie. Three pairs of green eyes stared at her when they noticed that she was still standing. Letting out a heavy sigh, Mercedes walked slowly to the couch and slowly sat next to Sam. A wide grin appeared on Sam's face as he felt her body heat next to him. Sam frowned when Stacey shifted and put her head on Mercedes' thigh. He heard Mercedes chuckled and looked at her through the corner of his eyes. He saw her patted Stacey's butt and caressed her long blond hair and Sam couldn't help but fantasizing about the future family that he and Mercedes might have together in the future. _Too far, Sam. You can't even get her speaks more than two words with you,_ he chastised his self. One thing that he did know for sure at the moment was the jealousy that he felt toward Stacey. Once the movie ended, Stacey demanded to watch Frozen since Stevie had gotten to watch his favorite movie. Without saying anything, Sam just obeyed. He went to change the disk and went back to his place. Halfway into the movie, Sam chuckled when he realized that Stevie had fallen asleep. He peeked on Stacey and smiled when he saw that his baby sister was peacefully sleeping on Mercedes thigh.

* * *

Mercedes started to think that her agreement to help babysit Stevie and Stacey was a big mistake the moment she saw Sam walked into the house. Dinner was awkward and Stacey's demand for Sam to sit next to her made her extremely uncomfortable. Besides, Sam seemed to have nothing else to do than stared at her. During movie, she was hoping that the kids would sit in between her and Sam but, the two little monsters seemed to love making her suffered and ended up keeping a space for her to sit next to Sam. When Stacey asked for Frozen, Mercedes was thinking that maybe she should put them to bed, but Sam had went and changed the movie before she managed to voice out her opinion. She sighed. Her eyes were getting heavy and she would fall asleep in no time. She was yawning and before she even realized it, her eyes had closed.

Sam froze when he felt her head on his shoulder. He turned to look at her and smile at how peaceful she looked in her sleep. His eyes landed on her lips and the urge to kiss her overwhelmed him. Without thinking, he leaned forward, getting closer to her plump lips. However, he stopped when he noticed that her eyes were opened and that she was staring directly into his eyes. Sam gulped down his saliva.

"What are you trying to do?" she asked. Her voice was cold and he could feel the chill on his spine. He straightened himself and cleared his throat – at loss as what to answer. There was an accusation in her eyes and he braced himself for lash out. However, Mercedes said nothing and carefully took Stacey in her arms and carry the little girl to her room. Watching her walked away, Sam immediately did the same with Stevie. After he had done put his brother on his bed, he quickly walked out of Stevie's room and when to get Mercedes who was gathering her things.

"Mimi, look -,"

"I better go home now. It's late" she cut him off and quickly gathered her things before walked out of the door – leaving him standing alone in the living room. Sam raked his hair with his fingers and hit his head while cursing his own self.

* * *

Mercedes quickly walked to her house and climbed the stairs to get into her room as soon as possible. Once she was in her room, she went to lie down on her bed – never bothered to change her clothes. She brought her hand to her chest and she could feel that her heart was still beating frantically. It could possibly cause by the journey that she took from the Evans house to her house but she knew that a part of it was because what had happened in the living room with Sam. She was surprise when she opened her eyes and saw that Sam's face was extremely close to hers. She remembered how hard her heart was beating. She should scream when she first noticed him but his eyes – his beautiful emerald eyes had hypnotized her. Those eyes were so mesmerizing that she felt herself was lost in them. She didn't dare think about what would happen if she didn't gather her will and asked Sam what he was trying to do. She grabbed her pillow and put it on her face.

"Arghhhh!" Mercedes screamed out her frustration.

* * *

_Awkward_. It was Kurt's description if he was asked to describe the interaction between Sam and Mercedes on that day. The usual Sam and Mercedes interaction consisted of him chasing after her or trying to start a conversation with her and ended up with her brushing him off. However, today wasn't the same as the usual. Kurt saw Sam tried to approach his best friend but halted his steps out of the blue before he turned the other way around and walked away. If that wasn't enough proof, he saw they looked at each other, secretly, and then looked away. Kurt was on the way to his Algebra class when he saw Sam stopped Mercedes from walking. He saw Sam said something. Kurt frowned when he saw Mercedes said nothing and walked away. He also noticed that the Diva seemed a bit flustered. What the hell had happened? Kurt wondered. He walked through the crowd of students to get to Sam as soon as he could.

"Hey, watch where you're going, fag!" The yell was follow with a shove and Kurt ended up on the floor, his books were scattered on the floor. He glared at the back of Karofsky as he cursed him.

"Are you okay?"

Kurt looked up and saw that Sam was staring at him. His books were in his hand.

"I'm fine" he said as he stood up and brushed up his pants.

"How long?"

Kurt looked up at Sam and frowned.

"How long has he been bullying you?" Sam asked. His tone was serious and a bit stern.

"Forget it. It's not a big deal"

"Kurt, I saw you just now. You were a bit shaken when he shoved you. I'm guessing that this has been going on for a while now. Did Mimi know about this?"

Kurt let out a heavy sigh and shook his head.

"Nobody knows and people who had seen it happened didn't care. I didn't tell Mercedes because I don't want her to worry and I knew that she will kill Karofsky. So, I hope you keep it a secret from her too"

"I really think that you should -,"

Kurt went and stood in front of Sam – staring straight into his eyes and pointed his finger to him.

"_Not_ a word to Mercedes or I tell her that you've been _stalking_ her from your window" he warned. Sam sighed exasperatedly and reluctantly nodded. Mercedes didn't need to add _another_ creepy trait of him in her list, he thought.

"Good" Kurt said and walked away. Sam didn't need to know that Mercedes was lost for words when she accidentally saw his half naked body few days ago, _yet_, Kurt decided.

* * *

_Diva, I am so sorry. I can't join the sleepover tonight. Sam and I have to work on our duet. Have fun!_

Mercedes groaned as she read the text that Kurt had sent to her. She threw her iPhone on her bed, furious. Ever since Kurt and Sam had been assigned to do the duet together, she felt the slight shift in their friendship. Kurt seemed to be closer to Sam. She often seemed the two of them together in school. Hell, she even saw Sam walked Kurt to class once! Besides, Kurt seemed like he was hiding something from her. She was positive. Sam Evans was stealing her best friend from her!

"Are you sure that you don't want to tell Mi – Mercedes about this? I'm very sure that she'll ask about your uneven gait"

Kurt huffed as he put the ice on his ankle.

"It just a sprained ankle, Sam. I'm sure it heals on Monday. Remember the deal"

"You're so stubborn! You should tell the teachers about this! Have you thought what he'd do to you if I didn't show up?"

"It's nothing I've never handle before" Kurt mumbled. "Thanks for standing up to me"

"Kurt, you are my friend. I -,"

"Friend? I thought I am your love's rival" Kurt teased. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Shut up!" he retorted, laughing. Sam cleared his throat. "Look, what I am trying to say is, you should tell Mr. Schue or someone about this. I'll try to be there for you as much as I can but Karosky won't stop harassing you if you don't stop him. You're lucky you just sprained your ankle today. If I wasn't there at that time, I'm pretty sure that he'll beat you" Sam clenched his fists. Thinking about how Karofsky ran away when he showed up made his blood boiled. That coward needs to pay for what he had done to Kurt, he thought.

"Fine. I tell one of the teachers" Kurt said, just because he knew that Sam won't let the topic went away if he didn't agree. "Now, can we start practice the song?"

Sam smiled as he reached for his guitar and started to play the intro chords.

* * *

Santana and Tina could definitely detect the sour mood from Mercedes. They knew that something was bothering her. They had been watching the Bridesmaids and Mercedes was lost in her thoughts. Having had enough, Santana took the remote control and turned off the television. She put the popcorn bowl on the bed and turned to look at Mercedes who was sitting next to her.

"I had enough! Do you want to tell us about what's bothering you or do I need to force it out?" she asked. Mercedes wanted to protest but the looks in Santana's eyes made her changed her mind.

"It's about Kurt" she confessed.

"What about him?" Tina asked. She went to sat next to Santana, looking at Mercedes who now was sitting in front of them.

"I feel like he had forgotten about me. He seemed to be hiding something from me. Especially once he started working on the damn duet with Sam"

The two girls nodded. Truth was, everyone had noticed the sudden closeness between Kurt and Sam.

"Maybe he and Trouty Mcface are dating?" Santana said, shrugging her shoulders. Mercedes and Tina gasped.

"Where did you get the idea?" Tina asked.

"Well, Kurt and I are in Algebra together and I've seen Trouty walked him to class a few times. He won't do it if they're not dating"

"Oh, maybe that's the reason he bailed on us tonight!" Tina squealed. Mercedes felt a sharp tugged in her heart as she listened to the various romantic scenarios that Tina was talking. Sam's gay? She thought. She wanted to deny it but what Santana said made sense. A guy won't walk another guy to class. Besides, Sam went to all boys' school. It won't be weird if he's gay. Her thought went to the incident between her and Sam few days ago at his house. She wanted to deny it but all the evident were saying otherwise. Mercedes was confused. Why was it hurt her if Sam and Kurt were together? Pushing all her thoughts aside, she knew that she needed to have a talk with Sam. If he wanted to date her best friend, he needed to do it the right way!


	5. Black Eye

Thank you for the reviews/alerts/favorites!

I do not own Glee or any of the songs used in this chapter.

* * *

The whole weekend after the sleepover with Santana and Tina, Mercedes kept trying to reach out to Kurt. She asked him out to shopping and he rejected her invitation because he had to meet with Sam. Kurt Hummel never rejected any shopping outing yet, he declined her because of Sam Evans. Every time she asked him to do something, Kurt told her that he had something plan with Sam. Now, Mercedes was sure that there was something going on between her best friend and her arch nemesis. Mercedes wasn't a bad friend, so, she won't ask Kurt to break whatever relationship that he had with her enemy. Mercedes Patrice Jones was a great friend – that's why she would talk with her arch nemesis and gave him the best friend's advice.

* * *

Mercedes' Monday was busy. Every single time that she had was spent perfecting the routine for the duet that she and Santana would perform during Glee. They had chosen River Deep -Mountain High by Tina Turner for their duet.

"So, let's welcome our first performers – Mercedes and Santana!" Mr. Schuester announced. Mercedes and Santana came to the front – standing with their backs facing their friends. They turned and Mercedes started singing. A wide smile was plastered on Sam's face as he watched Mercedes.

_When I was a little girl_

_I had a rag doll_

_Only doll I've ever owned_

_Now I love you just the way I loved that_

_rag doll_

_But only now my love has grown_

_And it gets stronger, in every way_

_And it gets deeper, let me say_

_And it gets higher, day by day_

_And do I love you my oh my_

_Yeh river deep mountain high_

_If I lost you would I cry_

_Oh how I love you baby, baby, baby, baby_

_When you were a young boy_

_Did you have a puppy_

_That always followed you around_

_Well I'm gonna be as faithful as that puppy_

_No I'll never let you down_

_Cause it grows stronger, like a river flows_

_And it gets bigger baby, and heaven knows_

_And it gets sweeter baby, as it grows_

_And do I love you my oh my_

_Yeh river deep, mountain high_

_If I lost you would I cry_

_Oh how I love you baby, baby, baby, baby_

_If I lost you would I cry_

_Oh how I love you baby, baby, baby, baby_

The whole Glee Club was enjoying the performance. Sam admitted that Santana and Mercedes sounded great together. He almost groaned when the two girls dancing, shaking their upper bodies together. Sam's eyes went wide when they gave their backs to the audience and started shaking their asses. Watching Mercedes' ass shaking almost made his dick hard. He was shocked when Kurt smacked his arm – shaking him out of the lust filled thoughts.

_I love you baby like a flower loves the_

_spring_

_And I love you baby just like Tina loves to_

_sing_

_And I love you baby like a school boy loves_

_his pet_

_And I love you baby, river deep mountain_

_high_

_Oh yeah you've gotta believe me_

_River Deep, Mountain High_

_Do I love you my oh my, oh baby_

_River deep, mountain high_

_If I lost you would I cry_

_Oh how I love you baby, baby, baby, baby_

Applause filled the choir room once Mercedes and Santana ended their performance. Mr. Schuester congratulated them both and called Puck and Rachel for their performance. They sang Run Joey Run which Sam deemed as okay. After Puck and Rachel, it was Tina's turn. She and Rory sang I'm Your Angel – a duet by R. Kelly and Celine Dion.

* * *

Mercedes watched Sam who was talking with Mike. Kurt had left the choir room earlier, with Rachel and Tina. The only people who left were Mercedes, Mike and Sam. Once Mike had walked away, she immediately went to get Sam who was about to go.

"Sam"

Sam froze when he heard her voice. His eyes were wide as they looked at her. Ever since the little incident at his house, he had been trying to talk to her, but she always dismissed him without a word. Soon enough, the shocked expression was replaced with a wide smile as he watched her walked toward him.

"Mimi, to what did I owe the pleasure of _you_, reaching out to me?" he asked. Mercedes rolled her eyes. She had told him repeatedly to not call her that name but he ignored her.

"One word. Kurt" she said. Sam seemed taken aback when he heard what she said. Mercedes observed him and she was even surer that there was something going on between them.

"Kurt? What about him?" Sam asked. He wondered if Mercedes had heard about the bullying.

"Look, I don't want to beat around the bush or whatever. Kurt is my best friend. He is like a brother to me – a family. He is important to me. All I want is for him to be happy – and – urm – unfortunately, he seemed to find the happiness in _you_"

"Wh - what?" Sam frowned when he heard the last sentence. His frown was deeper when he heard Mercedes next sentence.

"I don't know what he sees in you, but if you make him happy, then I won't say anything about it. But, _listen_ here, Blondie. You hurt my best friend, and I will hurt you!"

_Oh, God! She's giving me the best friend's speech! Did she?_ Sam stared at Mercedes who was staring really hard at him.

"Mimi, look. I think there's a misunderstanding here. Kurt and I – we – we're not together. I am not gay"

Mercedes was seeing red when Sam started to deny his relationship with Kurt.

"I can't believe you! How could you deny it? The whole school saw it! Obviously, there's something between you two. You spend the whole time together. You walk him to class! Are you ashamed that people know that you and Kurt are together? Because, let me tell you, asshole, you're not exactly keeping it a secret either!"

"What? No! I'm not trying to hide anything! I walk Kurt to class because – urm – because he is my friend! There's nothing between us!" Sam denied it. He wanted to tell Mercedes the whole bullying ordeal but he knew that as a friend, he should respect Kurt's request. Mercedes laughed under her breath.

"Friend, my foot! Even five years old can give a better excuse than that!" she spat. Sam raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. He wondered where the hell did she get the whole he and Kurt in a relationship nonsense.

"I am telling the truth! There's nothing between Kurt and I! Well, except friendship because either you believe or not, he is my friend! We're always together because of the duet that we're working on!" _and the fact that I was protecting him from being bullied_, he added mentally.

"I can't believe you! You know what? You're a jerk! An asshole! If this is the way you act when I confronted you about Kurt, I think you better leave him! Kurt doesn't deserve to be treated like some dirty secret! He deserves better!" Mercedes said, finger pointing at Sam's chest. As soon as she had finished talking, she turned to walk away from him. Sam huffed in frustration as he watched she turned away. She was about to leave him when on reflex, he reached to grab her wrist and pulled her toward him. Their bodies were closed and he released his grip on her wrist, then brought his hands to cup her face and kissed her. The feeling of her lips on his was indescribable, but one thing for sure, it was perfect. Her lips were softer than he imagined and he was totally reveling in it. Sam felt Mercedes returned the kiss for a moment and the next thing he knew, he was being pushed away and a fist was coming toward him.

"Awww!" he yelled. His hand was covering his right eyes as he watched Mercedes scurried to the door.

* * *

"Hey, Kurt? What's up? I come as fast as I can" Mike said as he walked to the Evans' living room. Kurt said nothing but motioned toward Sam who was playing video game on the couch. Mike frowned and looked at Kurt – asking for explanation. The slender boy just shrugged his shoulders.

"He's been like that for 40 minutes. Saying nothing and kept on focusing on his game. I've been sitting on the chair like a statue because he would give me a dead glare every time I try to talk"

Mike went to sit next to Sam and gasped when he saw his right eye.

"Dude, what happened to your eye?" Mike eyes, pointing at the bruise eye. Sam huffed. He had lost the game. Annoyed, he turned off the game and put down the consul.

"Nothing. It just a bruise. No big deal" he said distractedly. _Who knew Mercedes Jones' fist was so powerful?_

"It's Karofsky, is it? What did he do to you?" Kurt asked. He's been thinking about it ever since he came in and saw the black eye. Sam sighed.

"No, it's not him. Just drop it, okay. I don't want to talk about it"

"Did you have a fight with someone?" Mike asked. He and Kurt kept on coming with speculations that it began to annoy Sam.

"It Mercedes! She punched me! Are you happy now?" Sam burst out. Kurt and Mike stared at him like he was an alien before burst out laughing.

"Seriously? Mercedes gave you black eye?" Mike asked in between his laughter. Sam groaned. He flopped back on the couch and crossed his arms across his chest – rolling his eyes at his laughing friends.

"What did you do to deserve it?" Kurt asked once he and Mike had done laughing.

"Ikissher" he mumbled.

"What?" Kurt and Mike asked. Sam took a deep breath and let it out.

"I kiss her" he mumbled again with a slower pace. His friends were silenced and then he felt Kurt grabbed his shirt.

"You did _what_?" he asked, angry.

"Look, I don't know how it happened!" Sam said, in attempt to protect himself from Kurt's wrath. Kurt stared at him so hard that he had to look away. He released his shirt from Kurt's tight grip and let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine, I know how it did happen! It just – she frustrated me so much! She kept on saying that I didn't want to admit that you and I are together and how I am a jerk who treats you like a dirty secret. I told her that I'm not gay but she refused to believe me. I guess – I just had enough and kissing her was the only way to prove that I am as straight as a ruler. Then, out of the blue, she pushed me and her fist greeted my right eye"

Kurt and Mike chuckled.

"Well, I am just glad to know that my Diva can protect her own self. But _you_, Sam Evans! How could you do that? It's her first kiss, you know! You're lucky you just got black eye for that!" Kurt said.

"No, it's not. Mercedes' first kiss was when we were nine years old" Sam said.

"And how do you know that?" Kurt asked, curious. Sam bit his lower lips.

"Because I kissed her when she wasn't aware of it?"

"Is stealing kisses your hobby? Because you seem to love doing it" Mike said. Sam pouted.

"It's not like that! I just – I like her and you _know_ – one thing led to – the kiss" he finished lamely, making Mike and Kurt snorted at him. Kurt's phone chimed and he looked at it.

"Well, seems like Cedes needs me. So, goodbye, guys" he said and left the two boys.

* * *

After she had left Sam in the choir room, Mercedes went straight to her car. Her heart was beating rapidly and she had to take a deep breath to calm herself down. Once she was calm, she started the engine and drove away. The whole journey back home, Mercedes kept on thinking about what had happened. The way his lips felt against hers and how soft his lips were. The kiss stirred something in her – an unknown sensation that she had never experience before. She was about to lose in the sensation when her brain seemed to pick up the fact that she was kissing her nemesis – that he had forced his soft and velvety lips on hers. Out of reflex or self-defense, she had punched him in the eye and dashed out of the choir room. Reaching her home, Mercedes stepped out of the car, locked it and went straight to her room. She was pacing in the room and having met with a dead end, she sent a text to Kurt to come and met her.

* * *

When Kurt walked into Mercedes' room, he saw his best friend was lying face down on her bed. Shaking his head, he went straight to the bed and sat on it. Mercedes, feeling a weight on the bed, turned her head toward it.

"This is the worst day ever" she mumbled, turning to lie down on her back – eyes fixed on the ceiling above her.

"What's wrong? You seemed fine when I left you after Glee Club today" Kurt asked, despite knowing the answer. Mercedes sighed.

"Wait – I texted you around five minutes ago. How can you be here so fast?" she asked, confused. Kurt chuckled.

"I was next door – at the Evans'. Sam and I were supposed to practice for one last time before the performance tomorrow but he's not in the mood because someone had given him a black eye" he explained. Kurt was biting his cheek when he saw the expression on Mercedes' face when he talked about Sam. It was a mix between annoyed and flustered and he found it amusing.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" Mercedes asked in a low voice.

"Since when do you ask me before asking?" he replied, chuckling. Mercedes was playing with her fingers – a gesture that she always did whenever she was nervous. Kurt reached for her hands.

"Cedes, you're my best friend. You can ask me anything" he said. Mercedes looked at him.

"Are you and Sam together? I mean _together_, as in a couple?"

Kurt laughed and shook his head.

"No! We're just friends!"

"Then, why did he always with you? Always walking you to classes? Plus, you've been blowing me off for him lately! Every time I called, you seemed to be hanging out with him"

"Cedes, we're working on a duet for the Glee Club together!"

"I know that! I also know that there's something else going on between the two of you. Last weekend, you blew me off when I asked you out for a shopping trip! Shopping, Kurt! You never decline any chance of going shopping before!"

"Okay, fine! I have something to tell you!" Kurt said, exasperatedly. He couldn't hide it anymore, he thought. Mercedes was staring at him.

"Sam – he's been protecting me. Karofsky had been bullying me – pushing me when I was walking, bumping me in the hall. That's why Sam had been walking me to class. I bailed on the sleep over and declined your shopping invitation because I sprained my ankle when he pushed me. He was ready to pounce on me and luckily, Sam saw it and came to my rescue. I didn't tell anyone about this. Sam saw Karofsky pushed me in the hallway and he noticed that I flinched when Karofsky was around – he sort of figured it out by himself"

Mercedes gasped when she heard it.

"Kurt – I'm sorry. I am such a bad friend for not noticing it!" Mercedes said, tears running down her cheeks. Kurt wiped the tears and hugged her.

"No, you're not. Karofsky – he only did it when I was alone. There's no way you're going to notice it. Besides, it's my fault too – I'm keeping it as a secret"

"Did papa Burt know?"

Kurt shook his head.

"So far, it's only Sam and you"

"I'm going to go and kick Karofsky cowardice ass!" Mercedes grunted. Kurt chuckled.

"Looks like Devil Spawn is not as evil as you thought, huh?" he said – fishing for any reaction from Mercedes. He swallowed his laughter when he noticed the fluster looks. Mercedes shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe" she said, nonchalantly. Her mind wandered to the choir room's incident. She felt bad for the few bad words that she had called Sam.

"You know, Diva. I asked Sam about his black eye and he told me what happened" Kurt said, looking at Mercedes with a smirk. "And I must say, for someone who just _forcefully_ being kissed, you didn't look angry at all. When you texted me, I expected to see you in a rage – rampaging on the fact that Sam had stolen your _first_ kiss. To tell you the truth, I was kind of disappointed with the lack of drama" Kurt pouted. He laughed when he noticed that Mercedes was blushing.

"I was mad, okay! The black eye is the proof of how mad I was!" she huffed – annoyed that Kurt was still teasing her. "Now, I just thought that – that – it was nothing. Besides, I already punched him. There's nothing to dwell on anymore" she mumbled.

"Really, Cedes?" Kurt asked, teasingly.

"Oh, shut up!" Mercedes said as she got up and head to the door, leaving the laughing Kurt alone.

* * *

"Okay, let's get the duets on!" Mr. Schuester said as he strolled into the choir room. He stopped his track when he saw Sam.

"Sam, are you okay? What's wrong with your eye?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Just had a little disagreement with – urm – my brother. That's all" Sam lied as he side-eyeing Kurt and Mike who were miserably failing in trying to hide their laughter.

"Oh, okay then. Are you guys ready? Mike and Brittany, the stage is yours" Mr. Schuester said. The two dancers came forward and performed their duet – You're the One that I Want from Grease. After Mike and Brittany, it was Artie and Finn's turn. They decided to go with Philip Bailey and Phil Collins' Easy Lover.

"Well, Sam and Kurt, are you guys ready?"

Sam and Kurt sat on the stools. Sam started to play his guitar while Kurt was moving his upper body, getting lost in the song as they started singing.

_Say, Say, Say What You Want,_

_But Don't Play Games With My Affection._

_Take, Take, Take What You Need,_

_But Don't Leave Me With No Direction._

_All Alone, I Sit Home By The Phone,_

_Waiting For You, Baby._

_Through The Years,_

_How Can You Stand To Hear,_

_My Pleading For You Dear?_

_You Know I'm Crying Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh._

_Go, Go, Go Where You Want,_

_But Don't Leave Me Here Forever._

_You, You, You Stay Away,_

_So Long Girl, I See You Never._

_What Can I Do_

_Girl To Get Through To You?_

_Cause I Love You Baby._

_Standing Here, Baptisted In All My Tears,_

_Baby Through The Years,_

_You Know I'm Crying Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh._

_You Never Worry,_

_And You Never Shed A Tear._

_You Saying That My Love Ain't Real,_

_Just Look At My Face,_

_These Tears Ain't Drying_

_You, You, You Can Never Say,_

_That I'm Not The One Who Really Loves You._

_I Pray, Pray, Pray Every Day_

_That You'll See Things, Girl Like I Do._

_What Can I Do Girl, To Get Through To You? Cause I Love You Baby._

_Standing Here Baptised In All My Tears, Baby Through The Years,_

_You Know I'm Crying, Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh_

Mercedes' eyes were transfixed on Sam who was expertly playing the guitar. She couldn't help but smile as she watched him enjoying himself. Truth was, after Kurt's confession and knowing what Sam had done had definitely shade a new light on him. She admitted that Sam wasn't bad and Mercedes wouldn't say it out loud, but watching Sam losing himself as he sang the acoustic version of Say Say Say by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson at the moment was a sight that she could definitely enjoy. He looked so attractive and captivating as his fingers expertly moving on the strings. Mercedes was shaking out of her reverie by the loud applause as Kurt and Sam finished their song. Mr. Schuester stood up and smiled as he looked at his students – praising them for their songs choices.

"Now, write your vote and put it in this box" he told them. Each of them wrote did as they were told.

"I do hope we win" Santana said. Mercedes nodded. They waited with baited breath as they wait for Mr. Schuester to count the votes.

"Well, looks like we have our winner!" Mr. Schuester said with wide smile. His eyes landed on Santana and Mercedes.

"Santana, Mercedes, congratulations!" he said, laughing when the girls screamed with joy as they hugged each other. Sam smiled widely as he watched the look of joy on Mercedes' face.

"You look as if you're the one who win" Kurt nudged him. He just shrugged and kept watching Mercedes who was celebrating her winning with Santana.


	6. Sam I AM

Do not own Glee!

* * *

Mercedes smiled as she waved goodbye to Santana who was off to celebrate their winning with Brittany. She walked toward Kurt who was waiting for her. They linked their arms together and started to walk toward the corridor – talking animatedly. Kurt saw Karofsky from afar and tried to calm himself down – thinking that he won't do anything to him since he was with Mercedes. Turned out, Kurt was wrong. When Karofsky met with them, he shoved Kurt so hard that he fell down, startling Mercedes who was beside him.

"Hey, why don't you use your big eyes when you're walking?!" Mercedes yelled as she helped Kurt stood up.

"What? Do you have a problem with me?" Karofsky replied back, haughtily.

"Yeah, I do! I have a problem with the way you treat my best friend!"

"He's fag! He deserves what I did to him! Fag like -," Karofsky's words trailed off when Mercedes slapped him. Kurt tried to pull her away when he saw the anger in Karofsky's eyes but Mercedes wouldn't budge.

"You bitch!" Karofsky said as he marched forward. Mercedes stood fixed on her legs as she stared at him.

"Leave her alone, Karofsky. You have a problem with me, not her" Kurt said. Karofsky smirked.

"Wow, sissy trying to act tough, huh? Oooh, how scare" he said mockingly.

"Leave him alone, Karofsky! Why don't you take your ass and walk away?" Mercedes stepped up in front of Kurt – trying to intimidate Karofsky. She yelped when Karofsky reached for her wrist and pulled her toward him. He leaned forward until she could feel his breath on her.

"Why don't you take your big ass and walk away?" he spat as he raised his hand. Mercedes started to feel scare but trying to hide her fear. She tried to free her wrist from his powerful grip.

"Hey, why don't you pick someone equal to fight with? Only pussy hit girl and – someone who's weaker than him!"

Mercedes was startled when Sam appeared out of nowhere and released Karofsky's grip from her wrist. He looked at her and Kurt – asking if they were okay. Then, out of the blue, Karofsky's fist hit Sam, making him tumbling down on the corridor. Mercedes and Kurt gasped as they watched Sam holding his nose and there's some blood coming out of it. They wanted to help him but he stopped them as he got up and hit Karofsky back. He punched his stomach, making him stumbled before he hit his face.

"Hey, what's going on here?!" Principal Sue appeared and grabbed both Sam and Karofsky, separating them from each other.

"He hit me first!" Karofsky said.

"Is that right, Ladylips?"

"No! Karofsky was harassing Kurt and I. He was the one who hit Sam!" Mercedes said. Sue looked at the two teenagers and released them from her grip.

"I let you go this time. If this happen again, I am dragging both of you into my office and you'll face the consequences!" she said before walking away. Mercedes and Kurt immediately went toward Sam.

"This is not over, Evans!" Karofsky said as he walked away. Sam wanted to go get him but Kurt and Mercedes stopped him.

"Ugh, your face looks horrible. This is not the look I want to show my parents" Kurt said as he examined Sam's face.

"It's okay. My parents aren't home yet" Sam said. He saw Mercedes turned and walking away and his heart hurt a little. But, a moment later, she came back with a cold pack in her hand and gave it to him without a word.

"Thanks" he said, smiling widely.

"I don't think you should drive. So, give me your key" she said to him. Sam frowned but still reached for his car's key in his pocket and gave it to Mercedes.

"I'll drive Sam home"

"Drive me home? Wh – what about your car?"

"She rode with me this morning" Kurt explained. They went and took their books from their lockers and head to the parking lot.

* * *

The whole ride back was awkward. Mercedes was being quiet and Sam was lost for words. He didn't know what to say. All the conversation starters that he replayed in his mind sounded awkward and corny. Therefore, he just ended up pressing the cold pack to his nose and said nothing. Without he realized, they had arrived at his home. Mercedes parked the car and Sam quickly getting down the car and went to open her door for her.

"Thank you. Here is your key" she said, handing him the key.

"Thank you for volunteering to be my driver" he said and winked at her, scrunching his nose. She smiled at him. He watched as she walked to her home.

* * *

The fact that Sam was helping Kurt with the bullying definitely shaded a new light on him. Then, when he just appeared out of nowhere and helped her definitely told Mercedes that Sam Evans wasn't a bad person. Kurt was right. The way he acted years ago, didn't define the current him. Mercedes sat on the couch in the living room. Her eyes caught something on the bookshelf – a blue album. She went and took it and went back to sit on the couch. Opening the album, she smiled as she saw a picture of her mother and Mary when they were pregnant. Turning the page, she saw a picture of two babies – a black baby girl and a white baby boy. Sammy and Mercedes were written on it. Flipping through it, her smile went wider as she looked at photos of her and Sam from babies till they were five. The photos definitely brought back all the nice memories of her and Sam that she had locked inside her mind. Mercedes was shocked when she felt a drop of tear on her hand. She quickly wiped her tears and headed to the kitchen. She checked the cookies tin and smiled when the cookies that she had baked last night were still there. She took a Tupperware and put all the cookies in it. She gave herself a once over and when she satisfied with what she was wearing, she took the Tupperware and her keys, locked the door and walked to her next door neighbor's house. Mercedes nervously stood in front of the door. She took a deep breath and released it slowly. She knocked the door. On the third knock, the door was opened and Sam stood in front of her with a confused expression.

"Can I come in?" she asked. Sam nodded and made way for her to walk inside before he closed the door. He followed her as she went to the living room.

"Here, I brought some cookies for you" she said. Sam took the cookies tin and thanked her. Mercedes smiled nervously as she watched Sam disappeared to the kitchen. A moment later, he came back with the cookies in a plate and two glasses of lemonade. He put the cookies on the coffee table and gave a glass of lemonade to Mercedes before he sat on the across her.

"How's your nose?" Mercedes asked. She was fiddling with her fingers.

"It's okay. Just minor bruise. I'm just glad that it's not broken" Sam said, chuckling. Mercedes smiled. She cleared her throat and she looked at Sam who was sitting on the ottoman.

"Look, I – urm – the reason – I – am here is because I'm – umm – want to apologize to you"

Sam looked at her, puzzled.

"Apologize? Why?"

"Because of the name calling and because of the way I reacted when I talked to you before. It was extremely rude and I shouldn't do that. I – It just – Kurt is my best friend, you know. We've been together since we were five and it is my job to protect him. When you denied about your 'relationship' with him – I just – it's like something snap in me and my only thought was that I need to protect Kurt"

"Mi – Mercedes. It's okay. I understood. Besides, I would react like you did too if I was in your place. So, don't need to worry about it" Sam said, smiling.

"You know – I hated you" she said. Sam gave her a wry smile. He knew about it – even before Kurt told him about it.

"I know" he said in a low tone. Mercedes bit her lower lip.

"I – it just the way you acted before you left years ago really annoyed me" she said, looking at him. "Weird enough, I still remember all the terrible things that you did to me. Kurt was right. I was being childish and I am sorry for that too. It was in the past and we're all young and stupid"

"I'm – I am extremely sorry for my stupid behavior in the past. Truth was, I – was jealous" Sam confessed. Kurt had told him to apologize to Mercedes but he couldn't find the perfect timing to do it. Even without Kurt probing it, he knew that he should apologize for all the evil things that he had done to her. "Mimi, you and I were really close before. Then, Kurt appeared and suddenly it was just the two of you. I was being kicked to the sideline and I guess – I was mad at you and at Kurt, _especially_. He just came and stole my best friend. That – that's why I harassed you. I want you to pay attention to me. I guess, being a five year olds, I didn't really know how to express my feelings. I am so sorry for being a jerk"

Mercedes was surprised when she heard it. All these years, she had been blaming Sam for being a bad friend, while the reality was that she was to be blamed too. Both of them were at fault.

"I'm sorry, Sam. I don't know. I – I should be a better friend but I failed. I -,"

"Hey, it's not a big deal. We were five years old – clueless kids. Why don't we start anew?" Sam said, smiling widely. He gave her his hand. "Hi, I'm Sam. Sam I am and I don't like green eggs and ham" he said. With the same wide smile, Mercedes reached for his hand.

"Hi, Sam I am. I am Mercedes – diva extraordinaire! Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too, Mercedes. Do you mind if I call you Mimi? It's my best friend's name and you sort of remind me of her" he said, smiling lopsidedly when he saw Mercedes rolling her eyes.

"You're not going to stop calling me that, aren't you?" she asked.

"Nope!" he said, smirking. She rolled her eyes good-naturely and he felt his stomach flipped. He noticed that her small hand was still enveloped by his large hand and he had no intention of letting go. Unfortunately, Mercedes realized it and she slowly retracted her hand from him. She sipped her lemonade and looked at him.

"You know – I saw some pictures of us from we were babies before I came here" she said.

"Really? I bet I was the cutest baby ever" he said teasingly. Sam laughed when Mercedes made a face. They talked and talked about everything – getting to know each other from scratch. Sam was definitely enjoying the comfortable atmosphere that they had together. Seeing Mercedes laughed and chatted happily reminded him of all the time they always did the same when they were little kids.

"Oh, look at the time! I need to prepare dinner!" Mercedes said once she noticed the time. Sam was reluctant to let her went home but he had no choice. He walked her to the door. Before he managed to open the door, it was being opened by his father.

"Mercedes! What a surprise!" Mary said once she saw Mercedes.

"Hey, Momma Mary. I stopped by to give some cookies. They're in the kitchen" she said. Stevie and Stacey who saw her, ran toward her while shouting her name. She hugged the twins and told them about the cookies.

"Well, why don't you stay for dinner? We're getting pizza tonight"

"I'd love to, but I can't. It's my turn to cook tonight. Maybe next time" she said. They bade goodbye and she walked home. Mary and Dwight exchanged looks when they saw the wide smile on Sam's face.

* * *

Dwight sat on his work chair and stared at his wife who had been facing back and forth for quite a while. He sighed as he noticed that there was no sign of stopping Mary.

"I thought you want them to be nice to each other like before. So, what's the problem?" he asked. His question seemed to stop Mary and she went and sat across him.

"I do and I am happy that they finally rekindle their friendship. It just – didn't you think it was suspicious?" she asked. Dwight frowned.

"They were alone in the house, Dwight! ALONE! When Cedes mentioned about cookies before, I definitely thought that they were having sex or something. Luckily she meant the _real_ cookies – not something else"

"Mary, honey. You are being a worrywart. I am sure that Sam knows what he's doing"

"Dwight Richard Evans. Your son is a hormonal 17 years old teenager boy. I don't know about you, but I am not ready to be a grandmother yet. I'm too young for that"

Dwight rolled his eyes. He let out a sigh.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Well, give him the talk!"

"What talk?" he asked, frowning. It was Mary turned to sigh now.

"The _sex_ talk, Dwight" she said exasperatedly, rubbing her temple.

"Honey, he already had the sex talk when he asked where babies came from years ago"

"That was a different talk! Like I said before, this talk is for our 17 years son who might be doing the horizontal tango with a girl that he likes since god knows when! Let me tell you one thing, dearest husband. Since we've been here, I caught him _secretly_ washing his sheets and clothes for a few time at two in the morning! Do I need to refresh your memory as to why boys need to secretly washing their sheets?"

"Maybe he just got the urge to help you with laundry?" Dwight attempt to cover for Sam was fruitless and the glare that Mary shot him made him shut up.

"He it is so, he won't turn all sort of crimson red when I asked him what he was doing! The point is, talk to him"

"Fine. I talk to him later. Although, I don't think you have to worry about it. They just started talking again and I am extremely confident that it just friendship" Dwight sighed when Mary looked pointedly at him. "I promise that I'll talk to him as soon as possible" he continued.


	7. Father's gift

Thank you for reading / reviewing / alerts / favorites.

I do not own Glee!

* * *

Sam was cheerful. His steps were light and he felt that he could anything that he wanted. The world was his. He was truly jubilant and happy that even the insult of his mouth that Santana threw at him when she met him in the school hallway had done nothing to spoil his mood. He went to the locker and took his Algebra's book before heading to his first period. Once arrived at the class, he smile wider when he saw Mercedes was already in the class. Without wasting another second, Sam went to sit next to her.

"Hey, Mimi"

"Hi, Sam"

His heart fluttered when she greeted him.

"Well, this is something that I thought I'll never see" Kurt said. His eyebrows rising as he looked at Sam and Mercedes. "Please, do tell me. What happens to 'he is your arch nemesis, Kurt', huh, Cedes?"

Mercedes rolled her eyes at Kurt.

"We called truce yesterday" she said. Kurt hid his laughter and nodded while looking at them suspiciously – especially the fact that Sam had some kind of giddy aura surrounding him. He looked like a kid who was high on sugar.

"I think that's good. Besides, I am tired of hearing someone whining at me" Kurt said, looking at Sam. "Well, Sam. Seems like you'll be taken my seat from now on, huh? I guess I can deal with it. Besides, Mike is Algebra's genius. I can seat next to him" he continued and then walked to sit next to Mike in the row next to Sam and Mercedes.

"I have the feeling that he'll be stealing my seat beside Mercedes in all the class that we have together" he said to Mike who chuckled at him.

* * *

Dwight was going to Stevie's room when he saw Sam – staring blankly at his window. He was about to call his son when he saw Mercedes through the window. Sam was staring hard at her and Dwight finally understood the reason behind Mary's wariness of their son's attraction to Mercedes. Dwight's eyes almost bulge out of their sockets when he saw Mercedes was about to lift her top.

"Samuel Michael Evans!" he yelled – startling Sam. The scenario where Sam scampered to shut the curtain drapes was funny if Dwight wasn't angry at him. Sam gulped down his saliva as he started at his father. He wanted to try to weasel his way out of the hard stares but he knew that there was nothing that he could do. Besides, it wasn't his fault that Mercedes decided to open her top at the time.

"I think you owe me an explanation, Sam. How long has it been going on?" he asked, coldly. Sam bit his lower lip.

"I'm asking you a question, Sam!"

"Ever since we moved here" Sam mumbled – looking at his feet. Dwight Evans rarely got mad at his children. He was a playful and friendly man. However, the occasional rare moments where he was angry were something that should be feared of.

"I raised you better than this, Son. Your mother and I taught you that women should be treated with respect and honour. We never teach you to be some kind of creepy peeping tom. Do you know how disrespectful your act was? This is not a way to treat a girl whom you loved for almost all your life, Samuel"

"I – I'm –" Sam was at loss. He had been caught and he knew that he had acted shamelessly. "I intend to pull the drape and cover the window, but you caught me before I managed to do that" he said.

"Don't lie to me, Sam. I can tell when you're lying"

"I'm sorry. I mean – she wasn't talking with me before – always dismissing me whenever I tried to talk her. Watching her – just like – it sorts of a replacement for not getting to talk to her"

Dwight stared at his eldest son, eyebrow rising. He knew that Sam was telling the truth but he wouldn't tell him that.

"Have you – urm – seen her – topless?"

Sam looked at his feet again and nodded, ashamed.

"Samuel!" Dwight's voice rose due to the shocking truth.

"It was only twice! I'm telling you the truth! The first time was on the night we moved. It happened so fast that I didn't get to look at it. Then, the second time was – urm – last month. I was just got back from practice. The window was opened when I got home!"

"You should stop doing this. I'm serious, son. I raised you better than this. You and I will have a talk later on"

"Yes, sir. It won't happen again"

* * *

Mary wasn't surprised when Dwight told her about Sam's creepy act. She just looked at her husband, eyebrows rising as if saying that she had expected that kind of behavior to occur.

"Two words, Dwight" she said, raising her two fingers. "Hormonal. Teenager. I told you about it but you don't believe me. Now, you saw it with your own eyes" she continued.

"We raised him to be respectful toward women, ladies, girls and people in general! Now, he – he's acting like he had never seen a girl!" Dwight yelled, out of frustration. Mary chuckled under her breath.

"I told you to send him to a co-ed school, but you and your stubborn big head wanted to send him to that all boys school. Now, deal with the after effect of it" she said. Dwight side-eyed his wife as she sat and sipped her sweet tea. Mary let out a sigh. She stood and went toward her husband, rubbing his back.

"Honey, Sam likes Cedes. He likes her since god knows when. Don't you remember how excited he was when we told him that we would be going back to Lima? We decided to let him finish his school there but he begged to let him study in here. We chose Dalton for him, but _no_, he wanted to go to the public school when he knew that Dalton is an all boy school. Everything was because of _one_ reason – _Mercedes_. Why do you think he fought so hard with Stevie for his old room back? Because he knew that Mercedes' room was across it. Our son is young and hopelessly in love. He acted a little bit creepy but – that's because of the fact that Cedes used to not like him and it is also due to all those pent up hormone that's been trapped inside him for who knows how long. Besides, a hormonal teen who is in love is usually do something unthinkable like what he did. Did I need to remind you of your old behavior? Remember the guy who used to follow me around till he got my number?" Mary asked, smiling. Dwight smiled as he pulled her to sit on his lap and kissed her.

"Yeah, that guy is still very much in love with you" he said, smiling widely.

"I'm all gunning for Sammy and his romantic story but I am definitely not ready to be a grandmother yet! So, you better go and talk with your son"

"You're right. But first, I have something to do" he said as he raised Mary from his laps and stood up. He reached for his car keys and headed out without any explanation to his wife. Mary just shrugged as she continued her afternoon tea.

* * *

Sam was surprised when his father knocked on his door and told him that he had something to talk with him. He finished writing his last answer for Algebra and closed his book. Dwight sat on Sam's bed – facing his son who was sitting on his study chair. He was holding a small bag.

"Look, son. I think it is time" Dwight started. Sam frowned as he looked at his father. He was confused.

"Here" Dwight said as he gave the small bag to Sam. Sam's brows furrowed as he opened the bag. His face turned dark red as soon as he noticed the bag's content.

"Dad, wh – what are these?" he asked as he looked at the many boxes of condom in different types, sizes and brands.

"That is something essentials that you will be needed sometimes in the near future or whenever your horniness starts to make it appearances" Dwight said in a straight face. He wanted to laugh as Sam's face turned darker and the way he looked so uncomfortable, but Dwight held it. He needed to finish the talk with his son.

"Dad!" Sam whined.

"No, _you_ listen here, young man. With the way you've been behaving, I can't take any chances that you won't have sex when the opportunity shows itself. Your mother and I, we're just being cautious. Both of us are too young to be grandparents and we are definitely in nowhere ready to hold that title. I believe the Jones would share the same sentiment too. I won't give you the sex talk because I knew that you probably know about sex more than me. What I need you to do is being safe. Always practice safe sex. Wrapped your junk!"

"Dad!" Sam yelled but Dwight ignored him.

"Listen to me. Wrapped your penis every time you're involved in intercourse. Don't go around, spraying your seed. Only does it when you are ready – which means _years_ ahead, when you have a stable job to support your family and _preferably_ married. I've got you supplies that would last you months, depends on how sexually active you are. It should be enough. Are we clear, Sam?" Dwight said. Sam just nodded briefly. He couldn't even look at his father. Dwight chuckled. He stood up and patted his son's shoulder before he left the room.

"So?" Mary – who had been waiting outside the room asked when she saw her husband. Dwight wiggled his eyebrows playfully as he went to hug his wife in his arm.

"It feels nice to embarrass the kid once in a while" he said and they both laughed. "Boy, his face was so red and he cannot even look at me in the eyes!"

* * *

The talk that he had with his father was extremely embarrassing. Even a day after they had it, Sam still couldn't shake it out of his head. The evident of their talk, a.k.a the many boxes of condom that his father had given to him was safely tucked in his drawer. The talk was definitely a nightmare but he knew that his father was right. Hell, he and Mercedes wasn't even dating and they just only being friends once again but he already kept on having wild dreams about her. He didn't even know what would happen to him if she agreed to be with him. _Probably die and go to heaven_, Sam thought. He smiled when he saw her waving at him. He fastened his steps toward her.

"Hey" he said. "How's your day?" he asked.

"Quite good. I got A for my Geography test!"

"That's great"

They talked animatedly as they walked side by side to Glee Club. They were so engrossed in their talking that they didn't even notice the weird looks that their fellow Glee clubbers threw at them.

"What the hell?" Finn said.

"When did that happen?" Santana muttered, frowning.

"Am I in Twilight zone?" Tina said as her eyes followed Mercedes and Sam who went to sit in the seats next to Mike. They were laughing and talking – totally ignoring their surroundings. Santana scrunches her face when she heard Mercedes giggling at Sam's corny impressions. She and Tina exchanged a look and when they saw Kurt walking into the choir room, they immediately went and pulled him toward the girl's toilet.

"Hey!" Kurt yelled as he loosened their grips on his shirt.

"Alright, Kurt! Tell us the truth!" Tina said. Kurt frowned.

"What truth?" he asked. The two girls rolled their eyes at him.

"Sam and Mercedes"

"Trouty and Aretha!" Santana and Tina said at the same time.

"What about them?" Kurt asked, confused and intrigued at the same time.

"You don't know?" Tina asked.

"About what?" Kurt asked, starting to lose his cool due to the questions that the two girls were asking.

"Don't you see them?" Santana asked.

"Well, they seem normal in our first period. Nothing wrong or weird happened"

"Didn't you notice something different between them?" Tina asked. Kurt shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. Santana groaned.

"Aren't you weird seeing them all friendly with each other? I mean, Aretha couldn't even stand that boy before this and today – they seem like best friends! Is there anything going on between them that you and Aretha keep from us?" Santana said, eyes staring deeply into Kurt's.

"Nothing! Cedes decided to forgive Sam for whatever he had done to her when they were kids. Besides, they used to be really close before. So, I guess, they just rekindling their long lost friendship?" he said. Kurt raised his right hand as if he was taking a vow when Santana and Tina stared at him with their dagger eyes. "I swear! There's nothing going on between them!" he said. The two girls sighed exasperatedly.

"Fine! We believe you!" Tina said, defeatedly.


End file.
